NAIROBI, Kenya- Anxiety is building across the country as Kenya braces for another round of nationwide protests on Monday, July 7 — popularly known as Saba Saba, a historic day once marked by the struggle for multi-party democracy in the 1990s.
But unlike the earlier days, this time it’s not opposition politicians leading the charge.
It’s Kenya’s youth — mainly Gen Z and millennials — who have taken to the streets with unrelenting energy, demanding accountability, transparency, and an end to police brutality, enforced disappearances, and extra-judicial killings.
Their tools are no longer leaflets and rallies alone; they mobilize using hashtags, live streams, and encrypted messaging apps.
The current wave of protests, however, has been marred by violence and infiltration.
07-07 Showdown.
What began as peaceful civic resistance has increasingly turned chaotic due to the presence of armed goons — many of them allegedly hired by political interests to discredit and destabilize the demonstrations.
In the lead-up to Monday, several private schools in Nairobi and other major urban centres have written to parents, advising them not to send their children to school.
One circular from a school in Nairobi and seen by Y News read: “Due to prevailing security concerns and anticipated disruptions on Monday, we recommend that learners remain at home as a precautionary measure.”
This precaution comes on the heels of several deadly incidents that have rocked the country during recent protests.
On June 25, what began as a peaceful demonstration devolved into chaos as groups of unidentified men armed with crude weapons stormed sections of the capital and other towns, looting businesses, torching vehicles, and clashing with protestors.
By nightfall, at least 15 people had been reported dead — most of them youthful demonstrators. Dozens more were injured.
More recently, during the Justice for Albert Ojwang protest march in Homa Bay, meant to honour a slain activist and demand justice, protestors were again met with violence.
Witnesses say groups of men — who appeared organized — walked alongside the crowd before turning on protestors.
Several civil society groups and human rights watchdogs have accused the state of either sponsoring or turning a blind eye to these counter-mobs.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) recently admitted that “criminal elements” had hijacked the Gen Z-led protests, but offered little clarity on why some of the assailants were seen working alongside uniformed anti-riot police.
For Gen Z protestors — many of whom were not alive during the original Saba Saba uprising in 1990 — this moment feels historic.
OTC traders in Nairobi are taking extra precautions ahead of the anticipated Saba Saba protests on July 7.In response to the looting and destruction experienced during the June 25 GNz demonstrations, many are reinforcing their shops with fresh coats of paint, heavy metal
Their call is not just for political change but a moral reset: an end to state-sanctioned violence, a halt to corruption, and a demand for leaders to listen — not lecture.
Yet with every new protest comes a familiar pattern: mobilization online, peaceful turnout on the ground, followed by violence from unidentified groups, tear gas, arrests, and body bags.
The cycle is eroding trust not just in the government, but in institutions meant to protect citizens’ right to protest.
Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) has raised alarm over increasing reports of enforced disappearances, torture, and arbitrary detentions.
